Tag: beautiful

Holiday decorations outside Hotel del Coronado.

As one might expect, beautiful holiday decorations surround the elegant Hotel del Coronado this year. The world-famous Victorian beach resort always seems to go all out to make guests and more casual visitors like me feel special.

Let’s walk around the Hotel Del and look at Christmas trees, wreaths, festive lights, the seasonal ice rink, and even two sand sculptures on the nearby beach!

(The only imperfection I observed is a few of the poinsettias in the next photo had been knocked or blown over.)

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The faces of City Heights Square Mini Park.

City Heights Square Mini Park opened at 4061 43rd Street in 2014. It’s a beautiful urban refuge where neighbors can talk, relax, read, eat lunch, play a game of checkers or chess.

The pocket park features trees, ample sunshine and public art, including a large mural that is alive with many faces.

They are faces from the City Heights community, photographed during the span of the mini park’s creation.

The vast tile mural is a visual story best read by wandering eyes. The story presents momentary scenes in the life of the community.

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Holiday floral beauty inside the Marston House!

For this 2022 Holiday Season, the Marston House in Balboa Park is doing something very special. The interior of the historic home has been decorated with many beautiful flower arrangements!

I learned today that the gorgeous floral displays, which can be found in most rooms, are new for the holidays this year. The flowers will dazzle Marston House visitors through the end of the year. If you’ve never been inside the Marston House, you need to go on a tour. Learn more by clicking here.

I once went on an informative tour and blogged about it here.

Today I learned that George W. Marston‘s wife, Anna, was active with the San Diego Floral Association, and the beautiful displays in the sitting room, brimming with lighter colors, were inspired by her love of flowers. (See above photo.)

I also learned George Marston considered yellow and gold the colors of California. The arrangements in the Marston library (the following two photos) reflect this.

The interior of the old house isn’t brightly lit, which poses a problem with my camera. I’ve adjusted the images to bring out the beauty as best I can.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

It’s easy to explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag. There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Setting up Festival of Trees for December Nights!

Balboa Park is bustling with activity today, as an army of workers and volunteers prepares for December Nights, San Diego’s epic holiday festival that kicks off tomorrow afternoon!

In Room 101 of the Casa de Prado, I saw many smiling people busy decorating Christmas trees for this year’s Festival of Trees!

The Festival of Trees is a 50 year tradition that began in 1972, inaugurated by the San Diego Floral Association. Visitors to the Casa del Prado during December Nights will see dozens of beautifully decorated Christmas trees, sponsored by organizations throughout Balboa Park and San Diego.

It appears to me the Festival of Trees in 2022 will be just as spectacular as ever. It’s always a very popular family attraction during December Nights. Of course, admission is free!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

It’s easy to explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag. There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Pelicans on a bench at Del Mar lifeguard station.

I love this public art at the 17th Street Lifeguard Tower in Del Mar!

A tile mural depicting pelicans in flight decorates a concrete bench in front of the lifeguard station. The artwork was created by Betsy Schulz, whose fantastic, very beautiful mosaics can be seen all over San Diego County. I’ve photographed many.

Poetic words beneath the mural provide a wish: May your joys be as deep as the ocean, your sorrows as light as its foam. -Anonymous

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

It’s easy to explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag. There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Beautiful views at Sea Cliff Park in Del Mar.

A small pocket park by the ocean in Del Mar provides visitors with very beautiful views.

Sea Cliff Park is located immediately south of Powerhouse Park, and west of Seagrove Park, which is situated on the bluffs above it.

The unmarked entrance to Sea Cliff Park is a swinging gate. It leads from Powerhouse Park to a dirt path and a small, easy walking loop. The gate is just south of what Google Maps calls the Powerhouse Playground.

The drought tolerant vegetation of Sea Cliff Park is native to our coastal region. I discovered several plaques as I walked about, taking in the scenery. Two plaques were dedicated to loved ones.

I walked the short distance south to where the main path ascends to the railroad tracks. Then I turned back.

Surfers were out on the cloudy late November day. Looking down at the beach from the bluffs, I saw tide pools! I’ll have to explore them some day…

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

It’s easy to explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag. There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Jewels of the Season shine in Balboa Park!

Some of the most amazing and beautiful Christmas ornaments are now on display in Balboa Park. Step through the entrance of the Timken Museum of Art and you can’t possibly miss them!

Jewels of the Season is a special exhibition of fine, hand-crafted Christmas tree ornaments. The elaborate jewel-like creations are the work of two artists: Florence Hord and Elizabeth Schlappi.

If the name of the first artist seems familiar, perhaps that’s because she was married to renowned sculptor Donal Hord. Florence began making these unique ornaments as a hobby in the 1930s. Each one is a small work of art.

Elizabeth Schlappi met Florence when her mother started taking sculpture lessons from Donal Hord. The two began to make ornaments together.

If you see ornaments in the museum that seem more contemporary (such as one celebrating the Padres), they’re probably the work of Elizabeth. She also included fabric patches in many of her designs. You can see an example in one upcoming photograph: a lunar landing patch!

In 1995 Florence passed away, but a unique craft that she originated lives on through a network of creative friends.

If you’re going to December Nights this year, make absolutely sure you wander into the Timken Museum of Art. You’re eyes will open wide with delight!

By the way, on Monday, December 5, at 10:30 am and 2:30 pm, the museum will host an ornament-making workshop! Learn more and register here!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

It’s easy to explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag. There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Love One Another mural in National City.

Please enjoy this photograph of an inspiring mural in National City. Its message is perfect for the beginning of the Holiday Season.

This is a season for smiles, joined hands, and wishes for Love, Harmony and Peace in our world.

Riders can glimpse the beautiful artwork from the San Diego Trolley’s Blue Line, just south of where the tracks pass under Interstate 5. The mural is in a corner of a parking lot near the intersection of Wilson Avenue and Civic Center Drive.

As you can see, the words are very similar to the lyrics from that classic song Get Together by The Youngbloods.

COME ON PEOPLE, SMILE ON EACH OTHER.

EVERYBODY GET TOGETHER.

TIME TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post fresh blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

It’s easy to explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag. There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Amazing poinsettia Christmas tree in Balboa Park!

An amazing 15 feet high Christmas tree made of 390 poinsettia plants now stands in Balboa Park!

The Christmas tree was installed at the San Diego History Center on Monday. I saw it today, and it’s impressive!

On a wall near the festive red “tree” is a display explaining San Diego’s historical connection to the poinsettia, the World’s Favorite Holiday Flower.

As many San Diego residents know, Paul Ecke’s famous ranch in Encinitas cultivated and hybridized poinsettias for much of the 20th century, producing different colors and variations that have become popular around the world. At one time, the Ecke Ranch sold nearly 90 percent of the holiday plants in the United States.

Flowers and other nursery plants remain a very important part our local economy. As a matter of fact, the poinsettias in the San Diego History Center’s beautiful Christmas tree were grown by Weidners Gardens in Encinitas.

If you visit Balboa Park for the holiday season, especially during December Nights, be sure to step into the San Diego History Center, which is located inside the Casa de Balboa!

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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you’d like, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

It’s easy to explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Marvin Gaye’s Silver Cloud at Automotive Museum!

Check this out!

At the San Diego Automotive Museum in Balboa Park, visitors can feast their eyes on all sorts of rare and gorgeous cars. Many of the cars are historically important.

I was wandering the floor of the museum today when a friendly docent pointed out an elegant 1963 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III Saloon. It was originally owned, he explained, by music legend Marvin Gaye!

According to the San Diego Automotive Museum’s display, this car has chauffeured important musicians and Motown luminaries like Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, and Berry Gordy… Woah!

This super luxurious Silver Cloud has been restored and modernized by West Coast Customs, and its original blue exterior color is now ice pearl white.

Did you ever watch those television shows Pimp My Ride and Street Customs? Then you saw the work of West Coast Customs.

Would you like to drive this amazing, truly one-of-a-kind car?

According to the museum display, you might purchase this piece of history with all of its documentation and pictures by contacting the guys at West Coast Customs!

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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!